Alanis Morissette has condemned the documentary “Jagged” about her life story, slamming its “salacious agenda” and saying many of the film’s details are “simply not true.”
Alison Klayman directed “Jagged,” which is making its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on Tuesday. In the documentary, Morissette said she was raped by multiple men when she was a 15-year-old pop star in Canada. The Washington Post first reported Morissette’s accusations and added that the singer was upset with the film and would not be attending its premiere.
In a statement provided to TheWrap — which you can read in its entirety below — Morissette said she was approached for the film in conjunction with the 25th anniversary of her seminal album “Jagged Little Pill,” but was interviewed during a “very vulnerable time.” She also said her vision “painfully diverged” from the filmmakers when she saw the first cut of the movie.
“I ultimately won’t be supporting someone else’s reductive take on a story much too nuanced for them to ever grasp or tell,” Morissette wrote.
In the documentary, Morissette did not mention any of her alleged abusers by name, but said that whenever she discussed it with others in the music industry, it would “fall on deaf ears” and would be a “stand-up, walk-out-of-the-room moment.”
“It took me years in therapy to even admit there had been any kind of victimization on my part,” she said in the film. “I would always say I was consenting, and then I’d be reminded, like, ‘Hey, you were 15, you’re not consenting at 15.’ Now I’m like, ‘Oh yeah, they’re all pedophiles. It’s all statutory rape.”
The Washington Post noted that Canada’s age of consent is now 16, but was 14 back in the ’90s, when Morissette was a teenager. The law also states that the age can be higher “when there is a relationship of trust, authority or dependency.”
“Jagged” is part of HBO’s upcoming documentary series “Music Box,” created by Bill Simmons. The doc series kicked off with “Woodstock ’99” earlier this year and also includes the film “Listening to Kenny G,” which is screening at TIFF. The film is meant to debut on HBO later this year.
Read Morissette’s full statement to TheWrap below. HBO did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“i agreed to participate in a piece about the celebration of jagged little pill’s 25th anniversary, and was interviewed during a very vulnerable time (while in the midst of my third postpartum depression during lockdown). i was lulled into a false sense of security and their salacious agenda became apparent immediately upon my seeing the first cut of the film. this is when i knew our visions were in fact painfully diverged. this was not the story i agreed to tell. i sit here now experiencing the full impact of having trusted someone who did not warrant being trusted. i have chosen not to attend any event around this movie for two reasons: one is that i am on tour right now. the other is that, not unlike many “stories” and unauthorized biographies out there over the years, this one includes implications and facts that are simply not true. while there is beauty and some elements of accuracy in this/my story to be sure— i ultimately won’t be supporting someone else’s reductive take on a story much too nuanced for them to ever grasp or tell.”
Alanis Morissette